Gloria Triggered Memories Of '72 Storm

Harrisburg residents who lived through Tropical Storm Agnes in 1972 had their memories jogged back to that year's fear and devastation by Hurricane Gloria.

On June 23, 1972, Miriam Menaker never expected the storm to devastate the Susquehanna Valley.

Agnes was a small group of tropical air masses, born near the Yucatan Peninsula, which grew to 250 miles in diameter. It pummeled Cuba and Florida, whirled to sea and came back to drench the Northeast.

Menaker, of North Second Street, was cleaning the house. "I wasn't listening to the radio. I wasn't listening to the warnings," she remembered.

She realized it was time to move belongings from the basement when she heard her synagogue's library was already flooded. "We didn't know that the street behind our house was already impassable," she said.

Even after that, it wasn't until late evening that residents were asked to leave, which prompted Menaker to look out the window at a bank parking lot across the street.

"I saw all this water flowing through the parking lot," she recalled. "I asked my husband, 'Is that the river?' He said yes and that's when we finally left," she said, laughing.

The Menakers were lucky enough to be able to drive out of the city and stay with relatives. Others were forced to boat out of their homes, and several vacationers on islands in the Susquehanna were rescued by helicopter.

After five days, the Menakers returned home, but it wasn't easy. "I wasn't counting on all of the mud," she said. Four feet of water still was in the basement. The water level had hit the top of the kitchen range.

Another Harrisburg resident was on vacation when Agnes landed, devastating the household. The family lived on the second floor, not having the first floor mended until September 1973.

The Red Cross set up 210 shelters throughout the state, providing food and shelter for125,000. In Harrisburg alone, 20 shelters were opened and, on a student's suggestion, Penn State's Capitol Campus opened it doors to Agnes' victims.

President Nixon flew in to view the area as did Gov. Milton Shapp, who set the damage estimate at $3 million. Even the executive mansion was flooded to the first floor ceiling. Overall, about 400,000 people were evacuated from the East and 206 counties and 27 cities were declared disaster areas.

Gloria wasn't nearly as brutal to the state as Agnes was, but those who remember the turmoil certainly had their eyes on the new storm.

"I used to read that stuff and not feel anything," Menaker said. "But not now. I feel badly for the people it's hitting. It's been a bad week for the world."